Abstract
The objective of this study was to assess the situation of in-patient care for chronic renal failure
patients under the Universal Coverage Scheme. The in-patient claim database for fiscal year 2005, compiled
by the Central Office for Health-care Information, was used for the analysis. All admissions with ICD-10 codes compatible with chronic renal failure were included.
There were 45,326 chronic renal failure patients who accounted for 83,734 admissions (1.84 admissions
per patient) in 929 hospitals. The average length of stay was 5.4 days. Fifty-six percent of patients
were female, with the average age being 63.9 years. One-third of the patients had multiple admissions and
95 percent had multiple morbidities. The most common diagnoses were related to hypervolemic problems
or infections. Blood transfusions were the most common treatment procedure . Hemodialysis and
peritoneal dialysis were performed on a number of the admissions even though they were not covered by
the benefit package. Total hospital charges were 917 million baht (median 4,845 baht per admission).
Approximately 82 percent of the patients were discharged with clinical improvement; the fatality rate was
9.84 percent (4,462 deaths). The validity of data was the major limitation regarding diagnostic and procedural
coding, hospital charges, and discharge status. The patient demographic information was quite
valid.
